


Of Ghostly Children and Monstrous Kings

by MimiIvory



Series: Of Dust and Dead Children [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Gender-neutral Reader, Ghost Chara (Undertale), Ghosts, Good Chara (Undertale), Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Minor Character Death, Other, Pre-Canon, Reader Is Not Chara (Undertale), Reader Is Not Frisk (Undertale), Reader-Insert, Sad Asgore (Undertale), monsters and humans are the same, reader is a monster
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:47:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26822386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MimiIvory/pseuds/MimiIvory
Summary: Your story growing up in the Underground and making everyone around you uncomfortable because you ask good questions.
Relationships: Human Souls & Reader, Napstablook (Undertale) & Reader, Original Charater/Original Charater, Sans (Undertale) & Reader
Series: Of Dust and Dead Children [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1967281
Comments: 15
Kudos: 68





	1. Chara

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Thought](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/696067) by Tratser. 



You were young when Chara died. Barely more than a baby.

You were young when Asriel died. Which was unsurprising, given that it happened the same day.

It was that same day when the king declared war on humanity. The next day the queen left with the corpse of her child cradled in her arms after making appeal after appeal to her husband, all throughout the night. No one knows where the queen is now. Or even if she’s alive, but we haven’t found her dust, so all we can do is hope. We are good at hoping. It is healthy for monsters. Not so much right now.

It is said that all of the kingdom cried when the children died, and everyone celebrated when the war was declared. Nothing is said about what happened when the queen left. It’s one of the things we prefer to forget. There are many of those in the underground.

Like the rate at which monsters had been turning to dust before Chara showed up and put hope into the hearts of the people. Some whispered that the king wouldn’t have the nerve, that he was too sweet, that he had seen too many children dead to kill a child when it came down to it, that having a human child of his own must make him recorder, before somebody really gets hurt. It seems that Toriel was the only one with faith in the king’s convictions

Some, though. Some of them never believed the human was really a person. They are a human. The ones that trapped us down here in the first place. The ones that whittled our numbers down so small that we could be trapped under a single mountain. The ones who are not made of hope or kindness or compassion. The ones made of killing intent. And everyone has heard of some of Chara’s… excentrities.

But you do not know of any of this just yet. Nor do your parents. All that they know is that you cry when they do, with the knowledge that there are children dead, as old as you will be in a few years, then worry in fear with the promise of war, and watch in concern as you grasp at the air and cry for days after the queen leaves. Their joke, privately that you are reaching for the queen. You know differently, at least until you forget. You know that you are reaching for the comforting glow that left so suddenly. With no explanation. How rude.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You are just a child, we can't get into it just yet.


	2. Patience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first dead child.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're parents have had a hard go of life.

You are older when the second human falls. Not much older when they die. They are small and young, just like you. New Home celebrates. You ask, as politely as possible “Miss, what about the first human? Chara? Weren’t they just like a monster?” Your teacher does not let the horror you create hang over there head for long. They inform you that Chara was a nice human, and that most of them are not so nice. And this one must have killed someone. After all, how could they get so far without dusting a monster? And they had a knife. It’s gone now, but it was reported.

This explanation satisfies you until you get home and ask your parents how a monster would get dusted without starting a fight. Because obviously a monster would not do such a thing. Monsters are made of kindness and hope, after all. Your parents get the story out of you without much work. They stare with silent horror, before shaking it off. They tell you not to go around defending humans, and do not answer your questions. You try to keep your interest lower. You do ask questions, though. And learn that they were trying to capture the human for their soul. You tell your parents that this couldn’t be, that that would be like what the humans do, wouldn’t it? And that you heard it was a small one, too. You do not know quite what that means, but you do know that it usually means stripes. And stripes mean that everyone will protect them. That’s what everybody says. Your parents scold you. They tell you to stop asking about the humans, that nothing good can come of it, that they do not want the king to come and-

That is when your father interrupts. He tells your other parent that they are safe, that Asgore is not the same king as Asli. Your parent admits that it might be an overreaction, but that they would rather overreact then have their child hurt. They tell you that there is not a real problem, but that you should be careful, just in case. You will tease the stories out of them. Later. Now you cradle them close to you as they sob softly.

You do not like being in Snowdin. Especially near the door. Some people think it is just a reminder that the world is closed to you. You know better. There is a stifling calm, interrupted by flashes of panic, and you can hear crying by the door. Lucky for you, you do not need to go to Snowdin very often. It is on the other side of the underground. It is a pretty town, though. Hardly a town. It is large, and full of life.


	3. Bravery

You are older still when the third human falls. He is killed in Snowdin, by the Royal Guard. The only ones who know what a human looks like. Or at least, the only ones who care. He killed some of the Royal Guard members, but no civilians. They paint him as a dust thirsty killer. You have heard enough of your parents' stories to not ask too many questions, and of the students' confused looks when you describe the sort of fear which makes its home in your parents minds in the best of times. Some of them seem to understand, but not many. So you do not ask your teacher why everyone is not dust beneath his gloves. You just ask if the royal guard was fighting the human. Your teacher just sighs and hands you an invitation to the dust spreading. You ask why. She tells you that you have questioned the death of monsters for too long, and that you should learn before it is your parents spreading your dust. Even though this is after class, a classmate overhears and reports it to the principal. The teacher is reprimanded.

You go home to your parents and cry. Your father tries to comfort you. Your parent tells you that maybe it would be for the best. To see what the humans can do, if they chose to. You suppose this is smart. You were only curious.

The ceremony is bittersweet. A ceremony of life. You get the intense feeling that you should not be here. Not just the calm and panic flashes, which are larger than the last time, but some strange sort of honor coming from outside the building. It distracts you from the ceremony. And the fact that you did not know these monsters, though they create a place for you and share their stories. You do not have any to give, but you understand a bit better why your teacher was so unkind. There is grief in their celebration. You see an orange blur closest to the sight of the respect. You do not wish to dwell on it. You do not ask what happened to the child’s dust, not to the mourners. The door to the Ruins is a slightly lighter shade of purple.

You go home and you ask your parents if they know what happened to the child’s dust. They inform you that humans are made of meat, and bone and organs, so they do not turn to dust unless they are set on fire. You ask what they do with the bodies, then. Your father looks away and tells you he does not know. That is enough for the time being.


	4. Integrity

You are old enough to know that you should not question it when a child comes and kicks a large portion of Snowdin to dust with their pretty little shoes. One or two of your classmates appear to be waiting for you to mess up, but you just swipe at your eyes and try not to imagine all of those lovely people that you met as a powder. Of them being spread. But not everyone is, which is a good, good thing. You do not know how to deal with even a slice of the evil of your parents stories. The only comfort that you had against them, was that it could never happen to you. And it could have.

You ask your parents how they could have done this. They hug you and tell you nobody knows. They were human. That’s what humans do.

You ask them about the ones before, the first one who never seemed to hurt anyone, and the second who did not hurt the townspeople. And the one before that. The one we cried over. They do not have an answer for you.

Your parent falls down and turns to dust not long after. You clutch your father and cry. You spread their dust on their books, and save some in the scarf they gave you. Your father puts it on the hat they got for him. You think your father might not be far behind. There is lots of dust in the underground.

Some of the monsters whisper that the human was mad, that they should have been at home, surrounded by family, instead of fighting with the guards. You think that it would be a good explanation, but you never manage to convince yourself.

The king comes to speak to everyone. Talks of the evil of humanity. You do not think you wish to correct him yet. Let the mourning go on. You will ask your questions when there is hope again. No use interrupting the mourning.

You do not go to Snowdin anymore. You swore you saw a figure near the king for a split second, before it disappeared. You go to Waterfall, to the statue, to listen to it sing. You see a figure, clearly, a girl with scars, dancing and hopping in a way that seems nearly sad. You just watch. You do not know what to do, for you do not want to poke the ghost that wears a tutu covered in dust. But it notices you, and comes towards you, and leaps, before disappearing into the air. You fall on the ground with panic. You wait, and breath. You calm. You stand back up, and bow. You are not sure if this is right, but it is all you can do for this little lost girl.


	5. Perseverance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fighting all the Underground is hard. Especially without superpowers.

You are working at a restaurant by the time that the next one dies. You write to the king. You ask him not to kill this one, because no one has been dusted by them. By that time. He does not listen. You wonder if you expected him to.

Monsters rejoice. You wonder if Asgore spread the dust. Because they say he killed them with fire. And that is what happens when you have dust. Your father asks you to stop looking after the humans. You refuse. He sighs.

You ask the monsters. Some of them never realized that it was a human. Some of them suspected. One of them told Asgore. He was a war hero. You’re not sure if you should be surprised or not. He tells you about the human. And then asks after your parent. You cry. He asks why you are interested in a human after one led to the death of one of your parents. You ask him what would have happened to the rest of them if they were given the same chance that Chara was. He does not have an answer. You leave with tears in your eyes. On your way home you see the dancing human, you swear you can hear their shoes hitting the ground. You can see a figure who appears to be laughing as you petition the king. The king just tells you that it is for the best, and stumbles away. The orange figure smiles at you, and then disappears.

You see a dark purple figure who seems to be everywhere. They watch you for a while. When they come into your house, you tell them to get out. Thye glance around. You tell them that you mean the ghost. They gasp and ask you a million questions in the span of the five minutes that they are there. You see them sometimes. Around. You cannot often make out their questions. But you do your best. They keep out of your work area. 


	6. Kindness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kindness is my favorite virtue.

The next human does not even threaten a monster. You organize. You never meet them. You hope you will not have to meet them as a ghost. You network. You try to get everyone to see that it is a child, that they are all children. That they need help and love and happiness, and the human has provided much of that in their time in the underground. Your father tries to get you to stop. He is not surprised when he cannot, but he is disappointed. You think he faints when he hears that the captain of the guard showed up at your door.

It was not very threatening. You offer them beverages. You get an order for tea. You brew the tea. It is not the type that the king severed you long ago at the palace. It is spicier. You ask them the reason for their visit.

The captain tells you that they have heard you are trying to insight rebellion. You stare them directly in the eyes, and ask how a policy change is inciting rebellion. They ask if you brought it up with the king. You tell them yes. You tell them that you are not sure that protesting the murder of children was a crime. She snarls. You recognize her. From the funeral. Or at least you think you do. She tells you she was a baby then. You apologize. You ask her if she has lost someone. She looks at you and sees you as a person, you think. She tells you that Asgore might dust if you actually manage it. You tell her that there are children dead, and almost certainly everyone that perished the time the second human came around. Well, second after Chara. She asks why you were there. You tell her that it is the same reason she sits in your kitchen today. She accepts this. She asks you if you would not complain to see Asgore dust. You think. You tell her that war is a terrible thing. You tell her that that is what Asgore wants. You ask if she wants to see everyone she’s ever cared about, everyone she’s known, everyone she’s met just dust in the wind. She leaves.

You comfort your father. You fail to save the child. You get a job in the royal kitchens. You are the only one there, so it’s a formality. Asgore always looks faintly sick when he sees you. You don’t take it personally. You keep writing. No one wants to listen. You stand on the statue in Waterfall and read aloud. The dark blue girl stares at you. The orange one will sometimes talk to the purple one. You go to Snowdin, once. To visit the guards member. You did not help her. She seems to be on the verge of falling down. You apologize. She tells you not to. She says if you were lying, she would not be in this state. She says that it is okay to tell someone that they have done poorly, that she can just not see a way forward. You hand her a flyer. She laughs. You see a little girl of light blue near the door, and feel panic when you wave. The guardswoman falls down, later. You are not invited to the dust spreading. You cry. You tell your father. He tells you to go make some dang friends.

You think you are friends with the purple ghost, so you decide to go and ask them.You do not find them. You do find another ghost. He is nice, if shy. You talk to him, and he seems surprised that you do not like his sibling more. You tell him that he is calm, and that you need some calm in your life. He laughs. You talk to him about humans. He cannot make himself loud, and he does not want to. You ask him if he wants his music to be loud. He tells you yes. You play it in the castle, just the kitchen. You play it when you do something dramatic for the humans. He does not seem to acknowledge the human ghosts, but you are not sure whether it is just him being himself. He does not seem puzzled when the snacks he offers you disappear.

You are working in the kitchen one day when the newest ghost pops into being. “ And that is too much blasted CINNAMON!”

You apologize for your overuse of spices once you get over your shock. He apologizes for yelling at you once he gets over his. It turns out that you were on the receiving end of an hour-long lecture about his life, morality, the difference between monsters and humans and your spice choices. He isn’t mad at you, but he likes to cook, and hasn’t been around long enough to figure out the rest of the underground. You keep waiting for him to disappear. He doesn’t. You ask him politely if he would like a tour. You run into the purple ghost, and they take over the tour for you when they both fade out of your field of vision.


	7. Justice

You are older still when the last human comes. There has not been a human in a long time. There was not much hope in the Underground. Your father dusted. You spread him over the books with your parent’s dust, and the bench he loved in the park, and his hat, which you wear. You cry into the night for days. You can feel the stares on your back, asking why you haven’t dusted yet. You are not willing to give up just yet. But others are. Many in Snowdin, even those that do not remember the girl in dark blue. You do not blame them. You do not blame those who would want calm in the death of children, much. This is painful. You blame Asgore more. Not totally, given his situation, but he should have known this would happen.

The souls at least are more upbeat. The green one teaches you cooking tips, and helps you experiment. They do not know much, but new creativity has a way of helping. Purple distracts you (and themselves) by asking you every question they can think up, and you fill the space in between with your parents' stories. They reciprocate. They didn’t think that a monster could do anything so evil, given how sunshine they all are. You tell them that most of these people would not believe a human could have a peaceful conversation, without filling it with lies and stabbing them in the back. They tell you that some humans would. You ask them if they plan on doing so. They plead that they would never. You apologize, and tell them that sweeping generalizations are always bad. You laugh, for the first time in what feels like years. For all you know, it could very well be years. You still speak at the statue in Waterfall, even when the human travels. You never meet them, though. You clap for two girls in blue dancing together. You do not get close to either. They are not interested in you, much. The orange figure will come around more often, although he does not seem quite as vulnerable as Purple or Green. He does joke, though, and you consider that all you need from him.

When you see the next soul, he is rather surprised. You are the first person he has seen after his death, other than Asgore. You offer to introduce him to the others. He accepts, but he has one request. Speak to the royal juge on his behalf.

This is the first request you have gotten, and you feel obligated to honor it, so you ask Asgore when the judge will be in. He is uncomfortable as always, but you do get a date. In the meantime, you introduce a ghost to the rest of them. Except Napstablook, who might be aware of the ghosts in some form or another, but does not feel threatened by them. Purple says the tests that they ran should have determined that. Orange points out that you could have run those tests, and if Blooky thought that you didn’t want him to think you were there, he would have ignored everything. You think this is a fair point. You tell them to go harass his brothers instead. They do.

You see Sans. He is a skeleton. The only other skeleton you can remember is ~~Gaster~~ Papyrus, his little brother. They moved to Snowdin from Hotland years past. You hope that they do not still tell stories about the guard you might have killed.

You approach. He greets you, and then asks who you are. You are somewhat confused, as aside from the king, you are the closest thing the Underground has to a celebrity. More of a revolutionary. He tells you that he has heard stories of you. You suppose you are not very active anymore. You tell him that you have a question that will make you sound crazy. He tells you that from the story you told him, you expected him to think you were crazy already. You agree, and laugh, because he reminds you of Orange. He stares. You tell him that the ghost of the last child has a question for him. He laughs. You wait. He stops. You ask him if he thinks their deaths were justified. He tells you that you could ask on your own behalf. You tell him you would not trouble him for your own sake. He is not the one who put the order out, so you will not harass him. And if you were going to, you would have done it when he was appointed, or his predecessor. He asks if you knew his predecessor. You tell him that you did not know he was the judge until you went to see him, and you have not known any of the judges that preceded him, or how many in your lifetime. He supposes that it is not that prestigious a position. He asks which ghost is asking. You tell him it is the latest one, the yellow one, the oldest. You are not sure why, but you think that it is important.

He tells you that he does not think so, but he is not that kind of judge. You ask him what kind of judge he is. He tells you that he is a judge of souls and kills. You ask him what the judgement would have been for the dogs in Snowdin who killed Orange. He tells you that the king dispenses justice. You tell him that you do not think negates the question. He tells you that he cannot tell you, that this is not his job-

Yellow cuts him off. He tells him that it is fine. Sans stares at him. You wave your hand in front of his face. He mutters something about hallucinations and a bar. You are not sure if that is judge-like behavior, but you suppose you do not know what a judge is supposed to do. You would not have thought to ask him.


	8. Frisk

You are old by the time the last human falls into the underground. Not so old as Asgore, or Gerson, but older then almost everyone around you. Someone asks you how you're still alive and kicking. Your answer is spite. You are no better at spreading your sentiment, but at least people seem to be less thirty for blood. Except for the small fish child who is captain of the guard. She ignores you whenever you take up a post by the statue in Waterfall, except once. She asks you how you could disgrace this statue. You tell her that this statue deserves every disgrace it gets, after the stories your parents have told you. She tells you that they must have lied to you, for this was a king. You tell her that your parents were too scarred to have made it up. She notes the were, and the dust glimmering in your scarf and hat, and leaves it be. You mutter about how Integrity dancing here is probably a bigger disgrace than your infrequent speeches. You get a few less stares then you are used to. Monsters seem calmer.

The ghosts ask you to write to their families, tell them things. Well, some of them do. You will try to get messages to their next-of-kin. You are old for a monster, ancient for a human. You are not sure if you will be alive to do it, but if somebody can make peace with the entire underground, it will be this child. But you said the same of Kindness. And look at him now.

You meet this one. And the ghost of the first fallen human. You approach them. You ask if they are aware that they have a ghost following them. They tell you yes. You ask them for two favors. The ghost tells you that they have enough on their plate. You tell them that one is small, and one is not for you. The child listens. You ask them, that if it is their life or the kings, that they kill him, because you have six children that he killed, who cannot pass on, who can only talk to you. The child and the ghost stare at you. You also ask that they send some letters. It will be easier that way. The ghost complains. You give them the approximate G to pay for postage. The ghost is quiet. The child looks at you with confusion. You send them on their way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, our story isn't over quite yet.


End file.
